4
QuizMultiple Choice

Themes in The Great Fire

Question 4 • 2025/26 IGC-English II - Prescriptive

Read this excerpt from The Great Fire."I saw a great many kindly acts done as we moved along," White would recall almost fondly. "The poor helped the rich, and the rich helped the poor (if anybody could be called rich at such a time) to get on with their loads. I heard of cartmen demanding one hundred and fifty dollars (in hand, of course) for carrying a single load. Very likely it was so, but those cases did not come under my own notice. It did come under my notice that some cartmen worked for whatever the sufferers felt able to pay, and one I knew worked with alacrity for nothing. It takes all sorts of people to make a great fire."

Answer
A
Most people require payment in order to act heroically.
B
People must learn to act heroically when in danger.
C
Ordinary people can act heroically in chaotic situations.
D
Everyone tries to act heroically in dangerous situations.

Explanation

White describes people helping one another carry their belongings during the fire, including a cartman who worked for nothing. These examples show that ordinary people could act generously and heroically in a chaotic situation. The passage also mentions cartmen charging high prices, so it does not claim that everyone acted heroically.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.

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